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Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago Illinois playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play their home games at the United Center The team was founded in 1966 and won six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls won an NBA record-72 games during the 1995–96 NBA season and are the only team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a single season As of 2012, the Bulls were estimated to be the third most valuable NBA franchise according to Forbes, with an estimated value of $800 million, earning an estimated $34.2 million in operating income in 2012. Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose have both won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of 6 MVP awards Team Creation The Chicago Bulls are the third NBA franchise in Chicago, after the Packers–Zephyrs (now the Washington Wizards and the Stages (1946–50). The Bulls' founder, Dick Klein, was the only owner to ever play professional basketball (for the Chicago Gears). He served as the Bulls' president and general manager in their first years. The team started in the 1966–67 NBA season, and posted the best record by an expansion team in NBA history. Coached by Chicagoan and former NBA star Johnny "Red" Kerr, and led by former NBA assist leader Guy Rodgers and forward Bob Boozer, the Bulls qualified for the playoffs. 2011–2013: Injury-plagued seasons Derrick Rose was voted as a NBA All-Star starter for the second consecutive year, and was the third leading vote getter overall behind Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant Luol Deng was also selected as a reserve for the Eastern Conference. This was the first time that the Bulls had two all stars since 1997, when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the duo. Derrick Rose was injured for most of the 2011-12 NBA season; however, the team was still able to finish with a 50–16 record and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year and the best overall record in the NBA (tied with the San Antonio Spurs. Rose suffered a new injury when he tore his ACL during the 4th quarter of the first playoff game on April 28, 2012, against the Philadelphia and missed the rest of the series. Head coach Tom Thibodeau was criticized for keeping Rose in the game even though the Bulls were essentially minutes away from their victory over the 76ers. The Bulls lost the next three games, and also lost Noah to a foot injury after he severely rolled his ankle stepping on Andre Iguodala's foot in Game 3; he briefly returned for part of the fourth quarter of that game, but missed the following games in the series. After winning Game 5 at home, Bulls were eliminated by the 76ers in Game 6 in Philadelphia, becoming the fifth team in NBA history to be eliminated as a first seed by an eighth seed. In Game 6, Andre Iguodala sank two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to put the 76ers up 79-78 after getting fouled by Omer Asik, who had missed two free throws five seconds earlier. At the end of the season, Boozer and Aşık were the only members on the Bulls' roster to have played in every game, with Korver and Brewer missing one game apiece. In the offseason, the Bulls gave up Lucas to the Toronto Raptors, Brewer to the New York Knicks, Korver to the Atlanta Hawks, Watson to the Brooklyn Nets and Aşık to the Houston Rockets, but brought back Kirk Hinrich. In addition, they added Marco Belinelli, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohamed, and Nate Robinson to the roster via free agency. Rose missed the entire 2012–13 season, but the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals, losing to the Miami Heat 4–1 Chicago Roster Category:Eastern Conference